Tiraspol, 9 November. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PMR has commented on a statement by Moldova's foreign ministry concerning the recent military competition Warrior of the Commonwealth 2016 dedicated to National Unity Day.
As we have reported, besides Pridnestrovian servicemen, the Russian military also took part in the competition. That fact outraged Moldova's ministry of foreign affairs and European integration, which called the activities of the Russian military illegal.
According to the MFA of the PMR, this statement by the foreign ministry of Moldova is controversial and arguments about the illegality of the actions of the Russian military are ungrounded.
«The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PMR finds it necessary to remind that the deployment of the Operational Group of Russian Forces in Pridnestrovie, as well as the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation, is regulated by the agreement on the principles for a peaceful settlement of the armed conflict of 21 July 1992 and other title documents of the Joint Peacekeeping Operation," says the official commentary by the MFA, posted on the ministry's website.
The MFA notes that provocative calls for reformatting the peacekeeping mission and withdrawing Russian troops from Pridnestrovie actually contradict Moldova's international commitments, including the joint statement made by the presidents of Russia, Moldova and Pridnestrovie on 18 March 2009.
The foreign ministry also points out that the issues of bilateral cooperation of the armed forces of Pridnestrovie and Russia, including the organisation of joint socio-patriotic events, are an internal affair of Russia and Pridnestrovie and do not imply any third-party evaluations. «At the same time, the accusations of 'hypocrisy' and 'double standards' cannot be objectively addressed to Pridnestrovie and Russia, especially by Moldova — a party in the negotiation process which have been repeatedly found using such unscrupulous methods and reluctant to fulfil its commitments," says the MFA's commentary.
According to Pridnestrovian diplomats, the evaluations by Moldova's MFAEI are extremely biased, inconsistent with reality and threaten the foundations of a peaceful settlement of the conflict in the Dniester region, and the current peacekeeping format has proved its efficiency over 24 years.
«The MFA of Pridnestrovie expresses full support for Russia's peacekeeping efforts and emphasises that the Russian-Pridnestrovian partnership will continue to develop dynamically over the entire range of areas of mutual interest," the ministry concludes.
